TROGLODYTIDAE— WRENS.
95
Family SITTIDAE.
Nuthatch : Sitta caesia.
A fairly-common resident throughout the county, especially in
Skreens, Audley End, Thorndon, Hylands, Danbury and other
parks, where the numerous ancient trees afford suitable nesting sites.
Mr. Grubb and Mr. King both give it a place on their lists of Sudbury birds
(39 & 20). English includes it in his list of Epping Forest Birds (43. i. 24), and
Mr. Buxton says (47. 86) : " Frequent in the neighbourhood of Buckhurst Hill.
A neighbour of mine supplies them with nuts, which they carry off every morning,
invariably leaving the unsound ones." It is frequent at Stanway (Laver), At
Harwich it is scarce, but breeds (Kerry).
In 1880, I exhibited before the Essex Field Club (43. i. 69) a strange mass of
dry mud which had been deposited by a Nuthatch in an old Thrush's nest, built
in a large yew tree in the park at Audley End a year or two previously. The
lump of mud, which has been presented by Mr. Travis to the Club museum,
was very hard and completely filled the Thrush's nest, except that a hole had been
left down the centre, exactly as if the Nuthatch had been plastering up the
entrance to its nesting hole. It almost seems as if the Nuthatches had com-
mitted this strange freak " for practice."
Family TROGLODYTIDAE.
Wren : Troglodytes parvulus. Locally, " Diddy Wren,"
" Jenny Wren," and " Tiddy Wren."
An abundant resident.
Swainson says (48. 35) that the Essex name of " Tiddy" or " Tid-
ley Wren" is in allusion to its
diminutive size. Mr. Grubb says
(39), "Three or four years ago a
nest of young Wrens hatched in our
garden [at Sudbury] were of a very
light cream-colour. * * They very
soon disappeared and were seen no
more." About the year 1886 a
keeper at Lexden shot a Hooded
Crow and hung it up to a tree by a
piece of wire to swing in the wind as
a warning to its fellows. In the
spring of 1888, a pair of Wrens built
their nest of oak leaves within its
hollow carcase, and therein safely
reared their brood (50. ii. 205 & iii.
23). The accompanying cut shows
the nest in question. *
* Curiously enough, my friend, Mr. Arthur Midgley, of Saffron Walden, has an almost
exactly similar case. A pair of Great Tits built their nest under exactly similar circumstances,